Protest-punk legends The Levellers have been making their rabble-rousing tunes for two decades, and show little sign of slowing down.
I got in touch with fiddle player Jon Sevink to ask him some questions about forthcoming album Letters From The Underground and found out how The Levellers cope with their songs and philosophy being misunderstood … as well as the not-even-slightly legal ways they had fun on Halloween back in the mid-nineties.
TDP: Hey there! Who’s pulled the short straw here, then?
Jon Sevink: Good Afternoon. It’s not really the short straw. I’m sitting in the sun, answering a few well put questions with a cold beer, which is much better than working for a living! I’m Jon and I’m the fiddle player in the band.
TDP: “Burn America Burn” is as outspoken as ever. How do you think it will be taken by the citizens of the country it’s named for?
Jon Sevink: Well we already know how it’s being taken by some of them! And they don’t like it, but it’s the truth, they are eating themselves from the inside. Let’s just say this song is not an invitation, more…encouragement.
TDP: I’m assuming that Songs From the Underground will be made of similar stuff. What can we expect to find when it’s released – any surprises? Which is your personal favourite among the tracks?
Jon Sevink: I think it’d probably get a bit dull if all the songs had the same sort of vicious, cheap, anti-imperialist sloganeering, so yes, there are surprises and maybe even the odd love song (single raised eyebrow). As for personal favourites, that would be like singling out just one of your own children for praise whilst ignoring the others. I’m just loving the fact that we’re already playing 6 of the songs live with plans to play at least 3 more. and it’s still 3 months until the album’s released (8th august, plug plug). Audiences are really taking to them. Yeah alright, I like “Cholera Well” ‘cos it stars … me!
TDP: What were your plans before you went into the studio to record it? How does the final result match up with the original ideas?
Jon Sevink: The plans for this album were hatched nearly two years ago by myself and the bass player one night after a gig in Stockholm. We decided that what Levellers fans really like are 1) political lyrics - let’s not fuck around here, these are serious times we’re living in and you’ve got to stand up and tell the truth - and, 2) you have to be able to dance to the music or you might as well not bother saying anything in the first place. It’s not been the easiest ride, but we’ve stuck to the plan and I’m very proud of the results.
TDP: What do you hope to achieve with political songs nowadays – do you believe they have the power to change things, and if so how?
Jon Sevink: I know it’s the standard answer to this question, that you can’t change the world with a guitar, but I know my life and my way of thinking was shaped in a large part by the music I grew up with. Bands like the Clash, Specials and a whole load of other punk and ska bands that thrived in the Thatcher era when the enemy was more clearly defined. I’ve always believed there is a better way of living than this ridiculous consumerist, anti-youth, community destroying society. We put some of our beliefs into practise at our festival, Beautiful Days, where there is no advertising or corporate sponsorship and people are allowed to think for themselves. They tell us they love it!
TDP: I well remember staying up all night and drunkenly cheering the TV as Labour swept the Tories away in 97; what a pyrrhic victory that turned out to be! How do you see the political landscape of the UK – and indeed the world – changing over the next five or ten years?
Jon Sevink: I have to say, I was not one of those people cheering (although I was drunk!). Governments follow the same patterns every time, being held to ransom by multinationals. Money makes the world go round, as the saying goes. I saw Tony Benn speak at the anti-racism gig at Brixton Academy recently. He is still one of very few politicians who sees the bigger picture. If all young people in this country could be persuaded to take note of the real truth of the legacy they’re being left they might vote accordingly. No Confidence.
TDP: So, The Levellers formed approximately two decades ago. Looking back, where did you expect to be in 2008 compared to where you are right now?
Jon Sevink: This might sound boring, but I expected to be right where we are now. We decided when we formed that we wanted to play music together for at least 20 years and knew that we would never be rich. Which makes collective decision making a lot easier.
TDP: What’s been your greatest personal high as a member of the band?
Jon Sevink: The ‘Ripple Wine’ we drank in celebration of Halloween night, in full fancy dress, on tour in Germany in 1995. A heady concoction of LSD, Ecstasy, speed and alcohol (don’t try this at home, folks). Every single one of us (and there were at least 23 people on that tour) would have been thrown in jail by the German Police, only it was a small town and they didn’t have enough cells, so they kept a sort of ‘watchful’ eye on us instead. Bless!
TDP: What about the lowest point?
Jon Sevink: Booed off stage in Portland, Oregon by a crowd of American college jocks waiting to see Public Enemy. They’d just been wowed by Rage Against The Machine. Tough slot.
TDP: The Levellers have played gigs everywhere from squat parties to Glastonbury’s main stage – do you have a favourite venue (or type of venue)? Which is your favourite country to play in (other than the UK)?
Jon Sevink: Indoor venues, Brixton Academy and Glasgow Barrowlands. Outdoors, Glastonbury and Beautiful Days. I am proud to say we are ‘big in Belgium”.
TDP: Tell us about a gig that just wouldn’t go right – what went wrong, and how did you cope?
Jon Sevink: See above. We coped badly.
TDP: What would you say is your biggest limitation as a band – your collective weakness, if you like?
Jon Sevink: Without a doubt, laziness. We are a bunch of complete slackers.
TDP: Because of your outspokenness on various matters, critics and the music press have often tried to portray your continued touring and recorded output as a form of “selling out”. What is your response when you’re accused of being hypocrites?
Jon Sevink: We gave up trying to meet everyone’s expectations a very, very long time ago.
TDP: Tell us about two or three great bands we should have heard of (but haven’t yet) – local or international, whoever really blows you away.
Jon Sevink: There are some great bands that we have come across over the years. Ruff, Ruff & Ready, Compulsion and The Crocketts were 3 that spring to mind. Unfortunately none of them are still together. Record companies have a great knack of completely fucking an unfuckable situation.(sorry about the decline in literary standards here). We try and give space to as many new artists as we can at the festival. Check out the beautifuldays.org website for a list.
TDP: Last of all – where do you see yourself in another twenty years time?
Jon Sevink: How should I know? We only planned the last 20 years, there was no thought paid to what would happen after that. We’ll make it up as we go along, I reckon.
TDP: And why not! Thanks for your time, Jon.
You can download free taster singles from The Levellers‘ forthcoming Letters From The Underground album from its special website.
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Posted in Interviews |
Tags: folk, Letters From The Underground, political, punk, The Levellers
